Three dimensional (3D) representations of objects are used in many different fields. For instance, 3D representations of objects are used to design parts, e.g., computer-aided design (CAD) applications, and for performing analytical applications such as safety testing, vibration analysis, and computational fluid dynamics analysis. A 3D representation of an object is typically comprised of millions or tens of millions of triangles, where each triangle can be represented by 3 vertices, having three coordinates apiece. Each coordinate is typically represented by a floating point decimal, which is typically represented by 24 bits. Thus, a 3D representation of an object that is comprised of 10,000,000 triangles can take up to 2 GB to represent.
It is appreciated that representations of an object may include small holes or apertures at the surface of the representation. An issue arises when apertures are found at the surface of the representation because the outer surface may be continuously connected to the inner surface of the object via the aperture. Applications using the representation of the object to perform computationally expensive analysis may use the outer surface of the object to represent the object using less triangles. If, however, the inner surface and outer surface of an object are connected via an aperture, an application that is attempting to determine the outer surface of the object may inadvertently include the inner surface. Thus, there is a need for a mechanism by which an aperture on a representation of an object can be located and sealed.